I'm intending to buy a puppy.  I have had many years experience with dogs.   They have all been unwanted and I have taken them in.   All they needed was time and patience.  I now want to choose my own.   I need to buy as local as possible.   The nearest place is a family who have one or two litters a year.   The puppies are born, and bred to 8 weeks, in a purpose built kennel a long way from the house.  Am I asking for trouble?  or doesn't it matter?

Most of us on here whelp our bitches in the house. That way they are monitored all the time. If the person in question has set up cameras to watch the litter, and they are socialized properly then I would go and have a look. If they haven't then I wouldn't even give them the time of day.

You will have to ask plenty questions about the upbringing of the litter before making a decision.

You also need to ask why they have one or two litters each year. What is the purpose for the litters? Are they for showing or working, or are they just churning out pet puppies to fund their next holiday? What health tests for genetic conditions have the parents had? All these things need to be taken into account to increase the chances of your getting a healthy pup.

Thank you LindyLou.   My decision is made and I will look elsewhere.

Would ring a warning bell to me and I would not buy such a pup unless this was a big well established show kennel with staff and loads of experince. (Not an awful lot of them around these days.) Pups NEED to be indoors to get used to household noises such as TV, vacuum cleaner etc -without that, your job of socialising and training the pup will be much harder.  Fair enough if a litter of pups is moved outside when about 5 weeks old, but being born out of the house I see no reason for -and it certainly won't be practical either. Most of us will not leave the bitch's and pups' side for at least a couple of weeks after the pups are born, which means being with them 24/7 and sleeping next to them as well. I wouldn't fancy sleeping in a kennel. :)

It's often a bad idea to look for the most local pup to you. The pup is going to be your family member for the next 12-15 years, so you should aim to go for the very best available, regardless of where that puppy is located. Have you no friend you could pay to drive? For 13 years I was married to a non driver, and I don't drive myself, but we still managed to get as far as from Yorkshire to Somerset and Hampshire for pups on several occasions. There was always somebody willing to help out, especially if we offered to pay for their trouble.

Bunnyfluff, do remember that when you buy a puppy you are (in effect) endorsing that breeder - you are giving them your money, which rewards them for what they have done and makes it more likely they will continue. 

So - only endorse a breeder you approve of and would want to reward and to continue breeding as they are. 

Besides which, the socialisation period begins when the puppies' eyes open around 2wks old, and peak socialisation is from the age of 5-12wks - a good proportion of it is before they leave the breeder, so choosing a breeder who provides good socialisation experiences will have a huge impact on your puppy's personality.

Have a look at these videos, of an enriched puppy experience at the breeder - compare these experiences to puppies who live in a concrete run till they are 8wks older:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xZjMSa-90qw&noredirect=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5v6p2AQsD38&noredirect=1

You are right to walk away.  I have had pups from both indoor litters and outdoor.  Indoor litters are ALWAYS more social and easy-going.  I do nothing less when I breed.  I feel very strongly about this.  Outside pups are only convienient for the breeder, not for the good of the puppies.
Not onlly would the pup need to get used to a major change in circumstances, it would need to get used to all the indoor noises too.

Just watched the youtube puppies.  I think those type of clips should be shown more often on prime time tv to show potential dog owners how puppies should be reared.  The breeder I was referring to does agility work and showing.   The other one I didn't mention, who also has a kennel, breeds for security work and the pups that don't meet the standard are sold as pets. 

Glad to hear you are walking away. There may be good reasons for doing it the way you described, it's just alien to us on here.

I (and most on here) tend to sleep next to the whelping box, quite often with one hand in the box ;-) but it isn't the only way to do things. Only you know if you are comfortable with any other way.

I would always advise visiting breeders before they have a litter.  This way you can see how they keep their dogs question how the puppies are reared from birth onward.

CHOOSING THE BREEDER is almost more important than choosing the puppy, as once you have chosen the breed then a good breeder should have a puppy you should be happy with.

many of us with larger breeds will start having puppies outside at 4 - 5 weeks as they need the space to play, and with many would be unhappy cooped up in doors all day, but they still need to be in for a goodly amount of time taking part in canine and human family life (backdoor tends to be open).

I have a kennel right outside my kitchen which is used as a bedroom (night time only) for some of the dogs (thick coated breed preferring it cool) and puppies will use it as daytime play area/shelter once they are at the running around stage, with a run so that the adults can get some peace away from them.

The show and Agility kennel you mention may actually rear this way and the kenneling may be on rotation (splitting up in season bitches and males that don't get on etc), this may be better than crating dogs in rotation which many multidog owners end up doing if  they have to split dogs up for any reason.